


Two Weeks And Three Days

by PrinceSkylar



Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: Coming Out, Internalized Homophobia, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, Other, Polyamory, Self-Hatred, Trans Character, Trans Monarch, mentioned cheating, unhealthy family dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 00:23:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20144458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: Hank had run away approximately two weeks and three days ago; Dean had been keeping track almost religiously, as if it was the only thing holding his sanity together. Sirena had been avoiding him like the plague, hadn’t answered any of his texts, wouldn’t even look at him in their shared botany class. Which...sure, yeah that made sense. Jared had been avoiding him too, most likely put off and uneasy with Dean’s recent mood swings; frantic and anxious and teetering on the edge of guilt-ridden self hatred.Fucking Jared...this had been all his fault to begin with and the poor bastard didn’t even know!





	Two Weeks And Three Days

**Author's Note:**

> Back at it again with more Venture Bros stuff. So it's a bit angsty, and a better take on why Dean might have slept with Sirena because that was just garbage and I hated it. Monarch in here is trans, yes. If that isn't your thing then please don't read it. Monarch is also in a relationship with both Gary and Sheila.

Hank had run away approximately two weeks and three days ago; Dean had been keeping track almost religiously, as if it was the only thing holding his sanity together. Which in the long run...it was. Just a little. Or a lot...a lot, yeah. That sounded about right. Two weeks and three days without his brother blowing up his phone with stupid pictures and selfies. Two weeks and three days of their dad acting like everything was still normal, as if one of his sons wasn’t currently untraceable. Two weeks and three days of Brock trying to tell him that he was over thinking things, that he needed to calm down.

Frankly, his family had been driving him insane. But it wasn’t like his friends were any help either, really. Sirena had been avoiding him like the plague, hadn’t answered any of his texts, wouldn’t even look at him in their shared botany class. Which...sure, yeah that made sense. Jared had been avoiding him too, most likely put off and uneasy with Dean’s recent mood swings; frantic and anxious and teetering on the edge of guilt-ridden self hatred. 

Fucking Jared...this had been all his fault to begin with and the poor bastard didn’t even know! Jared, who Dean had become good friends with almost instantly. Jared, who Dean stayed up late with almost every night, who always managed to treat Dean to coffee every morning with that damn cheeky smile. Jared, who Dean had been slowly starting to fall for in a way that terrified him down to his very core. That’s where it had all started. Dean had started falling for Jared and he’d been so fucking scared.

Was he gay now? What about his long ago crush on Triana? Was he Bisexual, or had that crush been a result of budding hormones, and Triana being the only girl he’d ever really been around? Did liking the way Jared laughed make him gay? Did feeling his stomach flutter every time Jared sang show tunes as they cleaned make him gay? God, what if he was gay? How would his dad react? His dad, who had a smart ass, negative comment for everything!

...These had been fears he had rambled off to Sirena that night the storm hit when the two of them had been in Dean’s dorm studying for a botany test. He had rambled so hard he had nearly worked himself into a panic attack and Sirena, bless her heart, had been so patient as she eased him down. God, Dean could get why Hank fell for her. Beautiful in an obvious way, caring and gentle in a more unexpected way. God, Dean  _ wished _ he had slept with Sirena out of sexual desire like Hank thought he had. But that was the thing; he didn’t. He had slept with her because he had suggested, no begged, that he let her see if he could be attracted to her. Surely, if he could have sex with Sirena then he couldn’t be gay. No way. Sirena had agreed because damn it, she was nicer than most people really expected.

Then Hank had walked in and...God, no wonder Sirena was avoiding him. Dean didn’t blame her at all. But Jared avoiding him hit in a different way, irritated and saddened him all at once. Jared didn’t even know the half of it...But now things felt so weird, so strained because of Dean’s own shitty mood. Which was why he found himself here, walking down one of the few less busy streets near the college, hands shoved deep in his sweater pockets. He should have been back at the dorm at least an hour ago but he really couldn’t handle being suspended in awkward, strained silence anymore. He could go home but...Hank wasn’t there, and Brock and his father were just going to go about life as if nothing had ever happened.

Who knew a gay crisis could rip your life apart so easily?

He let out a small huff as he turned a corner. Up ahead a small diner’s flashing sign caught his attention and eyed it for a second before he decided that yes, yes he was going in. Wallowing in self pity made you rather hungry in the middle of the night. Good thing he grabbed his wallet.

When he walked in a bell above the door signaled his arrival. A tired looking woman behind the front counter glanced at him, looking him up and down. Probably taking in his unbrushed hair, sweatpants and sweater and took a second to mentally scoff at him. “Just you, honey?”

Dean nodded awkwardly and brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Yeah, just-”

“Dean Venture?”

Dean blinked and looked to his left, meeting the gaze of none other than The Monarch...in his street clothes, of course. But Dean would know those eyebrows anywhere, really. He was seated in a booth nearby and from what Dean could see, he was with his wife and that one henchman...god, Dean sucked at names. Dean groaned softly, averting his gaze as his hand moved to rub at his face. “Man, come on…”

“Venture! Don’t ignore me!” Monarch yelled in that god awfully high voice. 

Dean heaved a sigh and looked back at the lady behind the counter, who was now raising a rather unamused eyebrow at him. “I’ll just...sit with them. Sorry.” It would save the whole damn restaurant from having to hear Monarch ranting that way.

The short walk to the table the Monarch was seated at seemed to take ages as Dean shuffled over there, but soon he was standing before them, scowling softly. “Do you have to yell my name from across the restaurant?”

“There was like, maybe twenty feet between us.” The Monarch scoffed, bringing a coffee mug up to his lips and taking a long, loud sip.

The woman beside him-his wife-rolled her eyes a bit and gestured to the space that was empty next to their henchman across the table. “Do you want to sit down, Dean? We won’t bite.”

“Not  _ yet _ !” Monarch cackled softly.

Dean rolled his eyes and shrugged, sliding in next to the other guy. He glanced at the henchman and hesitated. “Uh, I don’t think I caught your name-”

“Gary.” The man replied with a smile that was...well,a lot softer than one would expect. “Don’t sweat it, most people don’t know my name anyways.”

“Right...Gary.” Dean nodded and leaned back into the booth seat. 

There was a strained silence that fell over the table for a moment, Monarch eyeing him from across the table as Dean struggled to avoid eye contact. His wife, thankfully, cleared her throat and tapped on the table to get Dean’s attention. “Do you want anything, Dean? They have great french toast here, if you like that kind of crap. Or their burgers are good too. Can never go wrong with a good burger.”

Dean hesitated and then shrugged. “Uh, french toast I guess…” He felt entirely out of his element as he watched the woman flag down their waitress and add on Dean’s order to whatever they had ordered before. She even tossed in lemonade for him! “Uh...Thank you Mrs...Monarch…?”

“Sheila.” She waved him off with a small flick of her hand. Beside her the Monarch shot her a surprised look, but she seemed to ignore it in favor of smiling softly at Dean.”Just call me Sheila, Dean; we’re casual right now.”

Was that was this was? Was having a meal in the middle of the night with his dad’s arch enemy a casual aspect of his life now?

“Right...thank you, Sheila.” He murmured and glanced aside for a second, frowning to himself. “You guys aren’t gonna like...drug and kidnap me are you? Because like, I’m not really in the mood for that. I have a test tomorrow afternoon.”

“We aren’t gonna do that.” Monarch scoffed as if it was supposed to be obvious. “We’re actually on a date, the three of us. We got sick of all the places by our house so we ventured out.”

Oh. Oh, well that was...new. Or maybe it wasn’t? Dean didn’t spend a whole lot of time with his dad’s enemy after all. No one could blame him for being a little behind on Monarch’s life events. 

“That’s...cool.” Dean said slowly. His lemonade was brought and he took a long sip before he cleared his throat. “I can uh, pay you back for the food and stuff later if you want?”

“No need.” Sheila shook her head and propped her chin in her hand, gazing at him curiously. “What are you doing out so damn late anyways? You look like shit. You should be sleeping. You said you have a test tomorrow.”

“You high?” Monarch asked him, narrowing his eyes at him in suspicion. 

“Dude, he’s so not high.” Gary snickered from Dean’s right. “And he definitely isn’t drunk. He probably got sick of studying and went out for a bit.”

“More or less.” Dean murmured, eyeing his glass for a second before he sighed, rubbing his face again. “Not even, actually.” He groaned. “Just...couldn’t be in my damn dorm anymore. It’s driving me crazy. And I can’t go home! So I just...took a walk to wallow in self pity.”

“Gross.” Gary’s nose scrunched up a little bit and he took a sip from his own cup. Looked like soda most likely. “That’s not the best way to spend a night, you know. Wallowing in self pity. What are you even wallowing for? Aren’t you like, the golden child in your family?”

“Not anymore.” Dean mumbled, laying his head down on the table finally, not caring about being polite anymore. “Not after the shit I pulled.”

“What did you do?” Monarch asked through a small snicker. “Call someone a meanie?”

Dean scowled even though they couldn’t see it. “I slept with my brother’s girlfriend so he ran away two weeks and three days ago.”

This time there was an extended silence and Dean wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. What did he even care though? He was spilling his heart out to the same people who had tried to kill him numerous times. Caring was so far out of the question. 

“Why the hell would you go and do that?” Sheila finally asked after a second. When Dean lifted his head the woman looked exasperated, as if she was already sick and tired of him. He didn’t blame her, really. “Your brother’s girlfriend? Seriously? Why?”

Dean hesitated, his voice caught in his throat for a second and he couldn’t speak. Monarch looked lost in thought before he gasped. “Wait! That’s Wide Whale’s daughter, isn’t it?”

“I think so.” Gary replied with a nod, crumpling up a straw wrapped between his fingers. “She yells a lot and stuff?”

“Yeah, her!” Monarch grinned. “She’s pretty, as far as teenage standards go, right?”

Gary paused and then shrugged a little. “I dunno, man, I don’t gawk at teenagers.”

“Neither do I!” Monarch huffed, scowling softly. “But if she’s super pretty then it makes sense for Dean to be into her and then try to sleep with her-”

“That’s not why I slept with her!” Dean cut in, huffing. With all their eyes turned on him, waiting, Dean felt his stomach churn. He bit the inside of his cheek until he could taste his own blood on his tongue and then took a deep breath. Well, shit. If he couldn’t talk to his family about this, what the hell did it hurt talking to them about it? “I...I was testing something...and Hank walked in and I didn’t get the chance to explain.”

“Testing what?” Sheila probed. God, she was intense, wasn’t she?

Dean hesitated again and glanced aside, tapping his fingers on his glass. “I...I think I’m gay. Okay? And I’m...I’m really freaking out about it, I’ve been freaking out about it for weeks. Sirena just...I asked if she’d sleep with me to see if I was into girls, maybe! I...I sort of really laidon the pity party and she agreed and I know it was shitty of me to do, but I never got to explain it to Hank! I’m such an awful brother! I’m so awful that he ran away and yet I’m the only one that seems to even give a damn!”

His rant was cut off as their waitress arrived, setting their food down on the table. Sheila murmured a thanks to the lady, flashing a smile, before she was looking at Dean again. The exasperation was gone, replaced with something a little more...understanding. Soft, even. “You’re really beating yourself up over this, huh?”

“Of course I am…” Dean reached for his fork, poking at the french toast on his plate. God, it looked so good. Dean sort of just now realized how much he hadn’t been eating lately. “Hank...he’s my brother. He’s my world and I got stupid and scared and fucked everything up. This...this stupid ‘am I gay or not’ crap is ruining everything!”

“Well, what’s so wrong with being gay?” Monarch spoke up and for once, he sounded...kinda calm. Maybe even curious, genuinely curious. When Dean just gawked at him the man arched an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. “Well? What’s wrong if you’re gay?”

“I...It changes everything about me.” Dean frowned softly. Wasn’t that obvious?

“Uh, no, it doesn’t.” Monarch shook his head and gave a small hum, reaching for the burger on his plate. He took a rather large bite and chewed slowly, eyeing Dean in a way that told him he had more to say on the matter. Sure enough, once he swallowed his food he spoke up again. “It doesn’t change anything other than like, what sort of person you bring home to meet the family. Is that it? Worried your dad’s gonna kick you out or whatever? Cause let me tell you, your dad isn’t the straightest guy in the world either-”

“Stick to one train of thought.” Gary chimed in gently. 

Monarch blinked once before nodding. “Right.” He made a vague gesture towards Dean. “Even if you’re gay or bi or whatever you’re still Dean Venture. It doesn’t mean you have to change how you dress or what you do for fun or what sort of movies you like. Everything is the same. The only thing that changes is the way some people might think about you. And even then, who gives a flying fuck? People are gay! People are bi! People are lesbians and asexual and all that other stuff! It doesn’t change  _ you _ , Dean. It just makes you more fully able to embrace yourself.”

...That certainly hadn’t been anything Dean expected. He blinked a few times in surprise and then took a breath, feeling a lump forming in his throat. But he was not going to cry. Not right now at least. “That...that was uhm...not what I expected from you.”

“Believe me, sleeping with your brother’s girlfriend for any reason was a dick move.” Monarch pointed a french fry at him before he popped it into his mouth. “But the rest of it...stop stressing so damn hard. Your dad? Trust me, he isn’t going to go on some homophobic rampage. You can take your time but don’t be so hard on yourself. And! Before you say anything, I know it isn’t that easy. I know coming out is scary, I understand that. But my point still stands-”

“How do you know?” Dean blurted it out without even thinking. He flinched as soon as the Monarch gawked at him in surprise, as if he was suddenly worried the man would fly across the table and strangle him. 

But instead Monarch scoffed a little bit and shrugged, popping another french fry into his mouth. “I’m transgender, Dean, for your information. I’m a fuckin’ work of art, and it took me a long time to accept it.”

That...okay, tonight was just full of unexpected things, wasn’t it? He didn’t plan on running into the Monarch and getting so...comfortable.

Sheila gave a soft chuckle and pressed a kiss to Monarch’s cheek before she turned to Dean with that soft expression again. “Look, Dean, what he’s trying to say is that it’s scary but you can’t let it hold you back. If you find the right people, and trust them and open yourself up for them, you’ll find people who will love you for you. That’s all that really matters.”

For a second Dean felt like he was in another world as he watched Sheila reach across the table to hold Gary’s hand, too. It felt so strange, so...unnatural to be here with them, yet he’d found more acceptance with them in ten minutes that he’d gotten with his dad in...his whole life, really. What the hell was up with that?

“...You guys are a lot cooler when you aren’t trying to kill me.” He said softly, in awe. 

Gary flashed him an amused grin. “Yeah, we’ve heard that before. Now eat your french toast before it goes cold.”

Dean had no urges to complain this time. The french toast was good and he spent the rest of the little adventure listening to Gary and Monarch bicker about their conflicting taste in movies. Sheila listened intently like the saint she apparently was, eyes filled with adoration. God, that was cute. The three of them were cute. How had he not realized that they were a thing before? How had he not run into this casual, softer side of them before?

What the hell?

Of course, it had to come to an end at some point. Like all good things did. They finished their food and shuffled out of the diner, and Dean turned to the three villains with a small, content smile. “Thanks for...you know. The food. And the advice…”

“Don’t mention it.” Monarch said, before his gaze narrowed a little. “ _ Ever. _ ”

Sheila gave him a gentle shove and smiled softly at Dean again. “I hope your brother shows up soon and you two can figure this all out, Dean. I really do.” She even stepped closer to pat his shoulder. “Get back to your dorm safely.”

“Uh...yeah, thanks. I’ll...see you guys around.” Dean murmured softly.

“Yeah, most likely.” Gary chuckled as he linked his arms with his lovers’, and lead them off with another word.

A weird night indeed...but something inside of Dean felt calmer, more at ease. He ended up hurrying back to his dorm and when he strode in Jared looked up from his phone, blinking in surprise. 

“There you are; I was about to text you.” The other breathed, offering an unsure smile. Like he was worried Dean would snap at him. “You alright?”

Dean eyes Jared for a long moment. Kind and thoughtful Jared, who stayed up for him despite his attitude problem the last few days. Wonderful Jared. Dean’s face broke out into a wide grin. “Yeah, actually. I’m alright.”

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways, thanks for reading! Might make this into a series about Dean getting closer to the Monarch and them...if that's a thing people wanna see.


End file.
